"I would not put my job on the line for that guy," the scout told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. "Who has a profile like that that's been successful in the NFL? Lazy. Not playing hard ... I think his physical talent is being overblown. At what point in his life has he had to push himself? Now you're going to give him this money and say, 'Do something you've never done in your life before. Against guys you just can't run over.' I would not do it."

Evaluations don't get much more honest than the ones derived from self-preservation, and here is a scout who wouldn't want his name attached to a multi-million dollar investment in Clowney. Scouts value their reputations and track records. It's how they're promoted. It's how they flame out. And while a scout who ties his reputation to a draft bust might be anonymous to the barstool crowd, it's how they're sometimes remembered in a more important circle: the employment circle.

But for every scout who has his doubts about Clowney, there is no shortage of others who see a different outcome for his pro career. In the same Journal-Sentinel report, another scout seemed ready to jump at the chance to endorse the enigmatic star.

"I don't know where people say he didn't play hard this year," the second scout said. "Not in the games I watched. They hold him."